JBL PartyBox 720 vs PartyBox 520, don't go big if you don't need big

PartyBox 720 came out last year, which was the renewal of the old JBL PartyBox 710 speaker. I am really not into big speakers like the PartyBox 720 and that's because I am not a so-called party-type. But a lot of people are like the opposite of me, they like to party a lot and want loud music with a lot of thumping bass. So, this article is for them, and I am comparing between 2 PartyBox speakers. The PartyBox 520 is big but not as big as the PartyBox 720 - let's see which one is good for whom.

Recently I wrote 2 articles on the JBL PartyBox Encore, one comparing between the Encore 2 and Encore 1, another where I compare the Encore 2 with the JBL Boombox 4 speaker. The design and build of these PartyBox speakers like the PartyBox 720, 520 and Encore are pretty similar. But there is a huge difference in their size. The Encore is like a big head-sized square-box at around 6 kg, the PartyBox 520 is bigger and taller like a 4-year-old child at 26 kg, and the PartyBox 720 is even larger like a 6-year-old kid weighing 31 kg. They all share similar decent quality plastic build and standard JBL PartyBox signature design.

Both the PartyBox 720 and PartyBox 520 have wheels and telescopic handle to easily move them on solid surface. You can't just roll them on grass, so you have to carry. The heavier PartyBox 720 will be most difficult to carry around. PartyBox 520 has a single battery slot vs PartyBox 720's double same-model battery slot. You can mix and match batteries between them and the Boombox 4 as they all are using the JBL Battery 600. Both speakers have front metal grille but they can be easily dented because of their heavy weight. You can connect mics with them and they have many DJ-features - like light shows, echo and more. I like their design and build and don't see any major problem.

The bigger PartyBox 720 has pretty much double the power of PartyBox 520. On paper, the PartyBox 720 is rated for RMS 800 watts vs the PartyBox 520 is rated for RMS 400 watts. The PartyBox 720 might have double the power but it definitely not gonna sound like double powerful. It is a common phenomenon as doubling the power doesn't translate to a perceived double powerful sound. The speakers output sound in a stereo configuration, so you will have some soundstage from them. Both the PartyBox 720 and 520 have same 2-woofer and 2-tweeter setup. The bigger and more expensive PartyBox 720 should have had more drivers in my opinion.

It's just that the drivers are bigger on the JBL PartyBox 720. So, 2 × 9 inch woofers and 2 × 1.25 inch tweeters on the PartyBox 720 vs 2 × 7.5 inch woofers and 2 × 1.0 inch tweeters on the smaller PartyBox 520 speaker. I think the drivers on the PartyBox 720 are decently bigger than the PartyBox 520's drivers, which kinda makes sense but bigger space could have been better optimized for bigger and wider soundstage with more drivers. You can pair 2 of them for wider stereo and connect many of the other JBL speakers if they support Auracast technology.

The larger PartyBox 720 will go deeper by a bit but you may not notice a significant difference. The official specs say that the PartyBox 520 goes down to 40 Hz and the PartyBox 720 goes even lower down to 32 Hz. So expect a bit deeper low-end from the PartyBox 720 than PartyBox 520. I can only find the frequency response of the JBL PartyBox 520 speaker, but the PartyBox 720's frequency response is not out yet. So, I will add PartyBox 710 and PartyBox 520's frequency response for reference - check out rtings.com for more testing info.

From their frequency response and how they sound after listening to many sound tests, I think there is more deep-bass response on the PartyBox 720. The PartyBox 520 has a pretty rolled off bass at around 32 Hz vs the PartyBox 720 still holds-on to its deeper bass at 32 Hz. So, at lower volumes like around 40 percent, which is still gonna sound pretty loud on both, the PartyBox 720 sounds like it has more powerful and impactful deeper bass than PartyBox 520 speaker. However, outside of the bass performance, the loudness of mids and highs are pretty similar.

They both have a similar loudness at around 40% volume, but the PartyBox 720 wins with deeper bass. The PartyBox 520 is stronger on the mids, you can hear more detailed and pronounced mids. Because of the stronger bass, the PartyBox 720's mids sound a bit recessed. Both have good clarity on the highs and the bass doesn't muddy out the rest of the frequencies. You might expect the bigger PartyBox 720 to sound more louder at the same volume level, but that doesn't happen at lower volumes - check jay's reviews for reference. The PartyBox 720 starts to become louder than PartyBox 520 at higher volumes.

At higher volumes like around or more than 70 percent, it's very very loud on both for indoors. The PartyBox 720 is a bit more louder and powerful with the bass. You can do a mid-sized 40-people indoor party with the PartyBox 520 speaker, but the PartyBox 720 will be better for a good outdoor party. It may not be enough with the PartyBox 520 if you are trying to do an outdoor 40-people party. So, the PartyBox 720 will be better for outdoors. At around maximum volume, none of these party speakers will sound bass-light like the small portable speakers such as the JBL Boombox 4.

The bass isn't as powerful as lower volumes compared to the rest of the frequencies, but there is still good balance even at near max volume. So you can still have thumping bass and powerful sound. The PartyBox 520 will sound bass-light and less powerful compared to PartyBox 720. The PartyBox 720 is a bit louder at max, but when plugged-in the PartyBox 520 kinda matches the PartyBox 720's (on-battery) loudness. So, both speakers are very loud and the bigger one goes a bit louder with bigger bass. The PartyBox 520 is stronger on the mids, which is why slightly different sound signature. No major issues with their sound, but the PartyBox 720 isn't too far ahead in loudness and perceived power.

The PartyBox 720 uses 2 units of JBL Battery 600 vs a single unit of Battery 600 on the PartyBox 520 speaker. Both use same battery but the bigger one uses 2 units. A single unit of JBL Battery 600 is rated at 99 Wh which is kinda equivalent to 21.6 V / 4584 mAh. So the PartyBox 520 has a 99 Wh battery pack vs the total capacity of PartyBox 720's battery packs is almost 200 Wh. The bigger PartyBox 720 consumes almost double the energy at max, so they will have similar playback time for max volume even though the bigger one has double battery capacity. They are advertised to last 15 hours at 40% volume with lights and bass-boost off. But I think if they are playing at a similar perceived loudness, the PartyBox 720 should last much longer. Both have external phone-charging functionality.

Check out those articles from above, you can click on those linked images to read the articles. A while ago I published a review of the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G smartphone, check that out if you are into budget phones. In case you are interested in portable speakers, I compared 3 Boombox type speakers from 3 different brands such as Soundcore, Tribit and JBL. So don't forget to also check out that detailed comparison article about the JBL Boombox 3 vs Tribit Stormbox Blast vs Soundcore Boom 2 Plus.

I think most people will have enough loudness and power with the JBL PartyBox 520 speaker. Very few people will need the big PartyBox 720 to run large parties and they will have more than one, like if you are a DJ or you perform on the street and get a decent crowd. Indoor and outdoor are very different scenarios. If you don't need it for outdoors, the much bigger and heavier PartyBox 720 will feel like a burden. But if you frequently do outdoor parties, definitely go for PartyBox 720.

PartyBox 520 is priced at $880 vs PartyBox 720's $1100 price tag. So, it's like the bigger one is around $250 more, which I think is reasonable. None of these PartyBox speakers will disappoint you. They just serve for different crowd and need. But I think you can be smart about it and buy the PartyBox 520 and a PartyBox Encore instead of the big PartyBox 720. You will have a different purpose of use if you get both the Encore and PartyBox 520. Sometimes you might get tired and wanna take the smaller PartyBox Encore. If you don't need the big 720, get the 520 and the Encore at around the same price range.

Also, please check out the JBL Charge 6 vs Charge 5 story for highlights.
IF you're interested in mid-sized portable speakers, check my JBL Charge 6 vs Bose SoundLink Plus article. The JBL Charge 6 did better in the head-to-head comparison.